Maybe it's taken you a while to catch on, and hey, np. Coutorture, aside from the writing, the photo galleries, the videos, and the network, is producing it's own photo shoots, refreshed a few times each week, to give you our say on fashion (without you know, too much of the pedantic say). That's right we're shooting and shooting, and barely breaking for lunch (although Dumont burgers have been known to be ordered), and in the midst of this madness, we've enlisted some of our friends and heros to shoot for us as well. This week, we're featuring a Coutorture exclusive by Wayne Liu, a photographer whose subjects do not catwalk nor pose. Hell, that's one of the main reasons why we wanted to work with him. For a fashion website, we kind of like that sort of thing.


The shoot took place on one sunny Saturday in a former public school house (now studio space for artists), in the Lower East Side. Liu brought his ICP (no, that's not the Insane Clown Posse) friends/colleagues/assistants (who can tell these days) and we all drank a couple of pots of coffee and ran around the place. There were photographers, models, photographers who were models, artists who were wondering why these strange faces were drinking coffee in their doorways. Liu was not drinking coffee, but shooting in the crooks of the place. We swear, we only saw an elbow, bootlace, and wisp of hair from him all day (we caught up later).


For the shoot, we've dressed the models in some pieces from the Chris Han Spring/Summer 2008 collection. Han's ethereal inspiration, her ability to make clothes that are wearable but still beautiful, coincided nicely with Liu's ability to bring out a haunted rawness in his subjects.


Links:
Haunted by Wayne Liu
Chris Han Spring 2008 Collection
Chris Han Pre-Fashion Week Studio Visit
Chris Han Fall 2008 Collection & backstage interview
Chris Han Spring 2008 In Brace Yourself

In April of this year, Target will be releasing a line of faux-leather handbags designed by Joy Gryson. Gryson, who has designed for Coach and Marc Jacobs, had enough it-bag experience to catapult her own line, Gryson, into mass popularity. And everyone knows, once you become an 'it' designer, Target will come knocking on your door. The Gryson line for Target introduces the Bottega Veneta-like woven leather that Gryson uses in her own collections, in a sophisticated palate of hunter green, black, slate blue, and white.


Photo from Gryson Fall 07/08, a likely resemblance to those appearing in the Target collection (tempting, isn't it?).

We also have impressive designer video interviews and original editorial spreads. May we cordially suggest perusing our selection? Enjoy New York Fashion Week Designer Video Interviews from Oscar De La Renta, Donna Karan for DKNY,Michael Kors, Isaac Mizrahi, Nicole Miller, Erin Fetherston, Ashleigh Verrier , Adam Lippes, James Coviello, John Varvatos , Monique Lhuillier, Joanna Mastroianni, Tory Burch, Neeam Khan

oscar

nostalgia

brace yourself

haunted

We've summarized the Fall 08 trends, as seen in New York Fashion Week. Although we're glad that the season's shows are nearly over, we don't mind reliving the trends for a sense of cohesion. Our thoughts on what Fall 08 in New York has come to represent include ladylike gloves, opulence, lean tailoring, plum (and a few other bright ideas), fur (an opulence overdose), bold tights, layered texture, and hats galore.

We also have impressive designer video interviews and original editorial spreads. May we cordially suggest perusing our selection? Enjoy New York Fashion Week Designer Video Interviews from Oscar De La Renta, Donna Karan for DKNY,Michael Kors, Isaac Mizrahi, Nicole Miller, Erin Fetherston, Ashleigh Verrier , Adam Lippes, James Coviello, John Varvatos , Monique Lhuillier, Joanna Mastroianni, Tory Burch, Neeam Khan

nostalgia

brace yourself

spin me

subversive

Photo By Coutorture's Alex Norden backstage at James Coviello Fall 2008.

This Fall 08, Vivienne Westwood showed a collection in which school children painted on the garments. Said to have been inspired by global warming, the children were meant to imagine a eco-warrior-like future. The prints came out beautifully, though we're sure the most abstract and vibrant among them were chosen for the collection. Overall, Vivienne Westwood Fall 08 was not your typical 'this is the bleak future' aesthetic that puts utility and/or deconstruction before, well, fun. Instead, it was a playful, colorful, wildly tailored (as always) collection with wearable pieces that give us something more Spring-like to wear in the Fall/Winter months.


Links:
Oscar de la Renta Fall 08 Backstage
Oscar de la Renta Fall 08 Photo Gallery
Oscar de la Renta Fall 08 Video


It can be so hard keep track of content when its updated everyday. But we have impressive designer video interviews and original editorial spreads. May we cordially suggest perusing our selection? Enjoy New York Fashion Week Designer Video Interviews from Oscar De La Renta, Donna Karan for DKNY,Michael Kors, Isaac Mizrahi, Nicole Miller, Erin Fetherston, Ashleigh Verrier , Adam Lippes, James Coviello, John Varvatos , Monique Lhuillier, Joanna Mastroianni, Tory Burch, Neeam Khan

nostalgia

brace yourself

spin me

subversive

Siwy denim, the New York based label, has given us some non-frock alternatives for Summer. Usually in the summer, our jeans rotation slows down and emphasis is put on only the best and most comfortable pairs. Siwy is one of the only denim lines around that really designs a Spring/Summer collection. It's not just a lighter wash, it's everything from color to rise to cut, that's considered. This fact alone makes Siwy a prime candidate for dominating the top three spots of the coveted summer denim rotation. This season, our favorite styles include the Carmen shorts, a low rise, single pleat pair with rounded side seams (which equal breathing room) and the Selma, a slouchy boot cut pair that we can vividly imagine with our favorite ex-boyfriend t-shirt and canvas sneakers. What's more, this season's most prominent washes are a crisp white, midnight, and classic blue which decidedly cover all of our basic summer denim needs.

It's true. In Monday's "Computerphobia: Is It Undermining The Fashion Industry" penned by Suzy Menkes for the International Herald Tribune, the point is most definitely driven home. Sure, we've all heard the redundant Lagerfeld sound-bite about how he owns fifty ipods which he hasn't the slightest idea how to use (conjure the mental image, now shiver) but Menkes offers a much broader scope of the technophobia at work in the fashion industry. In summation, no one really knows how to "surf the net" and the fact that they didn't respond to this question by laughing proves the point. It will be unfair to spend the next five hundred words making such easy fun ("I have two screens on my desk - one for Google, the other for e-mail and I surf the Net for an hour a day." says chief executive of PPR's Gucci Group) and likewise time-wasting to speculate whether it is undermining the fashion industry. As usual, Menkes wrote a fine article, but this time with a news-y title that didn't fit the bill. It's not like Nicholas Ghesquiere need to post myspace bulletins about Blenciaga's new Fall 08 collection, or Raf Simons need to send off nasty emails to the Jil Sander interns. That is, the combination of being up front about their lack of interest and being of a generation in which they do not think with the internet in the first place saves them the responsibility of staying current. Does it undermine the fashion industry? Probably not. Surely, someone is checking the email (and making sure the campaign videos make it on to YouTube). And someone, that is, thinking up the clothes. Multitasking is for the young!